


Somewhere Over the Rainbow

by ReginaNocis



Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff and Angst, Multi, OT7, no pennywise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:27:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23745283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReginaNocis/pseuds/ReginaNocis
Summary: In which the world is black and white until you meet the eyes of your soulmate, and Eddie Kaspbrak gets a color for each soulmate he meets.
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Bill Denbrough/Eddie Kaspbrak, Bill Denbrough/Mike Hanlon/Ben Hanscom/Eddie Kaspbrak/Beverly Marsh/Richie Tozier/Stanley Uris, Eddie Kaspbrak/Stanley Uris, Mike Hanlon/Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier/Stanley Uris
Comments: 4
Kudos: 77





	Somewhere Over the Rainbow

**Author's Note:**

> I legit just wanted to write about soulmates and couldn’t decide on a pairing...

For as long as the earth has existed, there have been soulmates. In school, they explain it as a phenomenon that occurs at birth. Colors fade to black and white within twenty-four hours of life, and they only return when you look into the eyes of your soulmate. It is because of this that humans feel an unparalleled longing towards their soulmates.

Eddie Kaspbrak had been seeing select colors since he was four years old. He’d made the mistake of telling his mother when he saw his first color, and she’d locked him in his room for three weeks, until his father had yelled about child abuse. She’d let him out, reluctantly, and he’d never said another word about colors to her again.

It happened like this:

Eddie was riding his bike down the street while his father read a book on their front porch. He’d made it two blocks down when another bike plowed into his from the side. Both boys hit the ground hard, the bikes knocked to the side. The other boy scrambled to his feet, stuttering out apologies the whole time.

“I-I’m s-s-sorry!” He gasped, grabbing Eddie’s hand and hauling him to his feet.

“It’s-“ Eddie’s eyes met the other boys, and he could suddenly see the most brilliant shade of blue he could ever have imagined. “Okay…”

“W-woah…” the boy gasped, his mouth open and eyes wide in shock. “It’s b-b-beautiful.”

“You see it too?” Eddie asked, unable to tear his eyes away. The boy nodded frantically. “I’m Eddie.”

“B-Bill,” the boy replied.

Of course, that was the moment that Eddie’s father realized he had gone too far. He shouted for Eddie, and he knew that he’d be in too much trouble if he ignored. Still, this was his soulmate. Instead of immediately picking up his bike and hurrying back, Eddie threw his arms around Bill and pulled him into a tight hug. Bill returned the embrace without hesitation. It only lasted about thirty seconds, but it left them both feeling giddy and happy.

“See you soon,” Eddie promised, as he picked his bike up. Bill nodded, smiling brightly.

Eddie could now see the color blue in startling clarity, in every single shade. It opened a new world to him, and he loved it. But he could _only_ see blue. He thought that perhaps he just needed to spend more time with Bill to unlock other colors, and as soon as he was free from his room, he tested the theory.

Bill could also only see blue. They were practically inseparable during the day, but no other colors ever made themselves known. It could only mean that they had another soulmate. This wasn’t uncommon, but it was unheard of in the small town of Derry. The chances of them meeting their other soulmate in Derry were slim to none, disappointingly. It was with heavy hearts that they waited for their missing piece.

Stanley Uris grew up on the other side of Derry. His parents were caring and kind, and taught him everything they knew about soulmates. Stan was so excited to meet his by the time he turned six, that every time he met a new person he felt crushing disappointment at the lack of color. All of that changed when the Toziers moved in next door.

“Honey, we’re going to introduce ourselves to the family next door. Would you like to come with us? I think they have a son your age,” his mother told him, smiling softly.

“Do I have to?” He asked, making his eyes big and innocent. He’d learned years ago how to get anything he wanted.

“No, of course not,” she replied, still smiling. She knew exactly what he was doing, but she humored him as she usually did.

“I’m going to play in the backyard,” Stan told her, grabbing his binoculars and running towards the door.

“Stay inside the fence!” His father called after him as the door slammed shut. Stan could reasonably claim to have not heard.

The backyard was quiet, which was perfect for birdwatching. Stan loved to watch the small sparrows that played in the branches. He’d read somewhere that even birds have soulmates, and his favorite hobby was watching them figure it all out. They were smarter than humans, in his opinion.

He was so focused on the sparrows that he didn’t realize anyone was with him until they sat down beside him. “Whatcha doin’?” The boy asked. Stan could feel his eyes on the side of his face.

“I’m just watching the birds,” Stan mumbled, blushing lightly. The boys his age didn’t usually react well to that. He had bruises from Henry Bowers for that very reason.

“Cool,” the boy said softly. He was still staring, and Stan was starting to feel uncomfortable. “Can I see?”

Stan did not _ever_ let other people touch his binoculars. He was just turning to tell this boy how out of luck he was when their eyes met, and…

“ _Woah_ ,” the boy gasped. His eyes were now a soft brown, with little flecks of orange towards the iris. Stan found that he couldn’t look away.

“You’re my soulmate,” he said, his hands shaking in shock. “I… I found you!”

“I’m Richie,” the boy said quickly. “Your new neighbor.”

“I’m Stan,” he replied. He reached out slowly, taking Richie’s hand. A warmth that could only be connected to the soulmate phenomenon filled them both, and they grinned.

They spent twenty minutes just holding hands and enjoying each other’s company before Richie spoke again. “Look, I know… we’re supposed to be able to see color, yeah?” Stan nodded. “I can only see, like, two colors.”

“Brown and orange,” Stan filled in. He frowned, looking around his backyard. It was true; he could only see those two, as well. “Well… maybe we have another soulmate?”

“Do you think we’ll meet them soon?” Richie asked after a few more minutes of silence.

“I hope so,” Stan answered quickly. “They shouldn’t have to be alone.”

Eddie and Bill didn’t have a class together until the sixth grade. Finally, they would see each other every day. Eddie’s mother couldn’t keep them apart while they were at school, though Eddie knew she’d try if she ever found out. She’d gotten a hundred times worse since Eddie’s father had died.

On their first day, Eddie met Bill outside of his house and they biked to school together. They stayed fairly quiet, occasionally talking about what might be different this year. It didn’t take them long to get to school, and they made sure to get seats beside each other in their classroom. Other kids trickled in slowly, but Eddie ignored them in the interest of watching Bill.

Two minutes before class started, the last two boys stumbled into the room. At ten years old, Richie was impossibly tall and even louder. Stan held his hand tightly, mostly to stop him from getting distracted and wandering off. They were bickering quietly about something from the moment the door opened. The only available desks were behind Eddie and Bill, of course.

Because Eddie was still focused on Bill, he didn’t register the new boys at all. Bill was the first one to really notice them. As Stan passed Bill’s desk, their eyes met. Stan stopped dead in his tracks, making Richie run directly into him. They both tumbled down to the ground as Bill shot up from his desk.

“Eddie!” Bill gasped frantically. “Eddie, it’s him!”

Eddie stood quickly, hurrying over to Bill’s side to stare down at the two tangled boys. Richie met his gaze, a bright red blush spread across his cheeks. Bright _red_.

“Oh my god,” Eddie choked out.

The teacher excused them from class, letting them go down to the library to figure everything out. All four were oddly silent, too nervous to be the first to speak. By this point, all four had made eye contact and had a dizzying array of new colors to focus on.

Eddie couldn’t stop noticing the vibrant orange floor tiles, or the red of Bill’s shirt. Eddie himself had taken to wearing mostly blue. It was his favorite color, if only because it was the first one he’d seen. Even now, though, the blue things he’d see would offer him a sense of calm that he couldn’t quite hold onto.

Once they were seated in the library, they couldn’t stop staring at each other. Eddie didn’t know where to even start, and he could tell by the way that Bill kept fidgeting that he felt the same way. The shorter boy with curly hair was sitting unnaturally still, staring down at his hands. It was the taller boy who broke the silence, of course.

“So… I’m Richie, and this is Stan. We’re your soulmates,” he said, shaking his hands in the air excitedly.

“No shit,” Eddie said before he could stop himself. Stan’s lips twitched, like he wanted to smile but couldn’t quite make himself.

“Eddie,” Bill admonished.

“Sorry,” he said quietly, looking down.

“It’s fine, I’m not offended,” Richie assured them. “Sometimes I need someone to keep me in line.”

“Sometimes?” Stan snorted. The look that he directed at Richie was so fond that Eddie had to look away. It was clear they were really close.

“Sometimes, Staniel,” Richie echoed, giving him the exact same look. It took them both a few seconds longer than necessary to turn back to Eddie and Bill.

“When did you meet each other?” Stan asked softly. Bill smiled, reaching over to take Eddie’s hand instinctively. It was a reflex from when they were four that neither of them had grown out of.

“What was it, eight years ago?” Eddie asked, squeezing Bill’s hand. More often than not, Eddie spoke for both of them. Bill hated the attention his stutter always got him. He simply nodded. “We were both four, and he crashed his bike into mine.”

“Cute story,” Richie smiled, looking between them. “How long have you been together?”

Eddie felt his face flush, and he could see Bill’s doing the same out of the corner of his eyes. Bill pulled his hand away, and Eddie immediately missed it.

“I d-don’t know w-w-what you’re talking ab-bout,” Bill stuttered, fidgeting nervously.

“Don’t worry, it’s okay!” Richie hurried to assure them. “You’re soulmates! Stan and I have been together for a year now, and we met six years ago.”

Somehow, that only made Eddie feel worse. Every time he’d tried to bring up the idea of dating, or even just their future, Bill shut the conversation down. At this point, Eddie was as sure that Bill was straight as he was that Eddie himself was gay. There would be no romantic future with Bill. He’d been counting on his other soulmate, and now-

“Bill and I aren’t together,” Eddie said softly. He sounded far calmer than he felt. Inside, he just felt numb. The usual warmth from being beside his soulmate was gone, replaced by an icy unpleasantness.

“Oh,” Richie said dumbly. “Um…”

“Ignore him,” Stan interrupted. He looked apologetic and worried, and his hand twitched as though he wanted to reach across the table for Bill and Eddie. Eddie shifted back in his chair just in case, not wanting to be touched. “There’s no pressure. We have at least one more soulmate, anyways.”

“You t-too?” Bill asked, relaxing slightly in his chair.

“I’ve only gained two, maybe three more colors,” Richie nodded. “I think we’ve got two more soulmates out there.”

“That’s… that’s completely unheard of,” Eddie protested. “Four is already a high number. More than that is next to impossible.”

“My parents say that anything is possible as far as soulmates go,” Stan told them. “So I think Richie is right.”

“Of course you do,” Eddie muttered. It earned him three different looks; Richie’s amused face, Bill’s stern gaze, and Stan’s slightly flustered frown. “I’ve got to get home. My mother will worry.”

He made it almost to the door to the parking lot before a hand on his arm stopped him. He’d expected Bill, so he was shocked into silence when he saw that it was Stan.

“Can I walk you home?” He asked, offering a shy smile. Eddie could only nod. He couldn’t find it inside himself to deny his soulmate, even if he wanted to.

They walked in silence for a while before Stan sighed and pulled Eddie to a stop. “I know that this is strange. I’m sure Richie and I weren’t what you were hoping for in soulmates. Maybe you thought you’d only have one more? And I’m sorry if you’re disappointed,” Stan started.

“It isn’t-“ Eddie started, but Stan covered his mouth with a twist of his lips.

“But here’s the thing, Eddie… we're your soulmates. Fate decided we’re all meant to be together in some way. You want it to be platonic, that’s fine. You decide you want more, just speak up. But you don’t get to leave us behind,” Stan finished.

“I hadn’t thought of it like that,” Eddie admitted grudgingly.

“How would you feel if Bill decided one day you weren’t worth the trouble?” Stan asked, smiling gently. Eddie could only imagine the horrified expression that flashed across his face. “That’s the same look Richie had on his face when you just ran away from us.”

“Oh god…” Eddie hadn’t meant to hurt them. He’d just let himself get carried away in his own mind. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to relax. Stan was right; they were in this together. “Should we go back?”

“No,” Stan assured him. “Bill was going to walk Richie home. We planned on meeting up after school tomorrow to try this again.”

“Okay,” Eddie agreed. He could do that. This time, he’d give them a chance.

“Can I try something?” Stan asked, taking a step closer. Eddie nodded, looking up to meet Stan’s eyes. Stan brought his hand up to cup Eddie’s cheek as he leaned in close. Eddie’s eyes fluttered closed as Stan pressed a chaste kiss to his lips.

It wasn’t like in the movies. There were no fireworks, and Eddie didn’t freeze up. He moved his lips against Stan’s, making it a decent kiss for two inexperienced boys. Eddie’s first kiss, in fact. The moment they separated, Eddie found himself longing for another.

“What was that for?” He asked softly, meeting Stan’s eyes again. Stan smiled.

“For giving this a chance,” Stan told him. His hand dropped down to take Eddie’s, and they held hands the rest of the way to Eddie’s house.

“I wish I could invite you inside, but my mom…” Eddie started, trailing off in uncertainty.

“It’s okay. Maybe you can come to my house this weekend,” Stan offered. Eddie smiled gratefully. He knew his mother would be too busy watching tv to pay any attention to the window, so he leaned in and gave Stan one last kiss, blushing darkly.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he promised.

“Until then,” Stan replied, kissing his cheek before turning to walk away.

Time passed. The four of them started a tentative relationship that had no rules and no order. Stan and Eddie exchanged a few more shy kisses when they were alone. Richie confided in Eddie and Bill about how his parents ignored him most of the time. He took up semi-permanent residence at Bill’s house after being introduced as his soulmate. Bill and Eddie continued their close friendship, still carefully avoiding crossing the line into more. Richie and Eddie spent almost no time alone together, because more often than not Eddie wanted to strangle Richie. Richie found it hilarious, of course.

The first day of their new school year, two new students popped up. People rarely moved to Derry, so it was pretty big news when two families suddenly did. Richie met one first.

He’d been ditching class after a particularly bad fight with Eddie. He’d hidden under the bleachers, smoking a pilfered cigarette from his mother’s purse when the girl slid onto the ground beside him with her own cigarette.

“Eighth grade, am I right?” She asked, a grin stretching across her face. She was avoiding eye contact, so Richie just shrugged. “I know why I’m out here; being new blows. What’s your deal?”

“Got into a fight,” he muttered, wishing she’d just go away.

“Harsh. Physical or verbal?” She took a drag of her cigarette, looking over at him.

“Verbal,” he sighed. He turned towards her, resigned to the fact that she wasn’t going to go away. As soon as their eyes met, the grass around them flared into a brilliant shade of green. Richie dropped his cigarette in shock.

“ _Ohmygod_ ,” she gasped, gaping at him.

“Took the words right out of my mouth,” Richie laughed, grinning widely. “Oh, I can’t wait for you to meet them!”

“Them?” She asked, reaching blindly for his hand.

“Our other soulmates,” Richie explained. Bev’s smile was blinding.

On the other side of the school, just as fourth period was starting, Eddie was hiding in the library. He was regretting yelling at Richie, as usual, and not paying attention to his surroundings. He almost fell out of his chair when someone sat down across from him.

“Are you okay over there?” The newcomer asked, fidgeting in his seat. He was so clearly uncomfortable with sitting there that Eddie couldn’t figure out what had driven him to sit in the first place.

“I’m… everything is fine,” he sighed, looking up to catch the newcomer’s gaze. He was hoping it would calm him down, and he was _not_ expecting to immediately see the bright shade of purple that was this kid’s shirt.

“Oh,” the kid said, staring at Eddie’s shirt as well. “Well that makes sense.”

“It does?” Eddie asked, his lips twitching into a smile. He’d been through this enough times to be comfortable with the sudden rush of new color.

“I wasn’t sure why I wanted to come over here,” the kid admitted. “It just felt right. So I guess it makes sense that you’re my soulmate.”

“I’m Eddie,” he told the kid, offering his hand.

“Ben,” the kid told him, shaking Eddie’s hand. “Is it normal to only see one color?”

“Yeah, until you meet the others. I think you’ll like them,” Eddie assured him. “We’ve been waiting for a long time.”

Lunch couldn’t come fast enough. Eddie and Ben spent the entirety of fourth period in the library together, exchanging stories. Ben was fascinated by the idea of multiple soulmates, but he confided in Eddie that they must be his platonics. He was very much straight.

_(“Don’t worry, so is Bill,” Eddie had told him, hoping his voice didn’t come across as bitter. That particular crush had only gotten stronger over the years.)_

They were the first ones to the lunch table, but were joined quickly by Stan. Stan was delighted to meet their new soulmate, even going so far as to hug him in front of everyone. Both Eddie and Stan could feel that they were almost complete; they almost had everyone now.

Richie pulled Bev over to the table, never once letting go of her hand. He pushed her into the seat beside Ben before giving him a questioning look. The look was replaced by a brilliant smile when their eyes met.

“One to go!” Richie cheered, pumping his fist.

“How do you know?” Eddie demanded.

“I can just feel it. Can’t you?” Richie shot back.

“Enough, y-you t-t-two,” Bill interrupted, sitting down in between them. “L-look, you g-g-gotta st-stop arg-guing all the t-t-time.”

“Oh, let them have their UST,” Bev grinned, giving Eddie a wink when his face turned bright red.

“It’s not-“ he started, but Richie interrupted.

“Who says it’s unresolved, Bevvie?” Richie asked, grinning. “Maybe we’re getting it on every night.”

“Beep-beep, Richie,” Stan sighed.

From there, it was just like any other day. Richie and Eddie bickered. Bill and Stan talked quietly to each other while watching them fondly. The only difference is that now Beverly was jumping into the arguments to keep them going, and Ben was adding quiet observations to Bill and Stan. It was almost perfect. _Almost._

When they were sixteen, they’d almost given up on finding their last piece. They were all happy together, in various combinations. Bev bounced between Bill and Ben, mostly, with the occasional dalliance with Richie. Eddie and Stan were going strong, and Richie would occasionally join on dates. Eddie never got over his crush on Bill, but it had gone down to a dull ache that he could easily ignore. What they had worked. So of course, it had to change.

Stan usually accompanied Eddie to pick up his prescriptions, because they all knew he didn’t like going through town alone. Henry Bowers and his gang had it out for Eddie, for whatever reason. That particular day, Stan and Bill had plans after school. Eddie didn’t want to bother any of the others, so he went alone.

He had no trouble getting to the pharmacy, and everyone inside knew him by first name. He left with a bag tucked in his backpack and a smile on his face. The smile almost immediately went away when he saw Patrick Hockstetter leaning against the building across the street. He turned to hurry away, and ran directly into Henry Bowers.

Eddie was realistic. He knew he wasn’t strong enough to fight back, and he wasn’t fast enough to run away. He was absolutely going to get his ass handed to him, and his mother was going to freak out and lock him in his room for a few days. He closed his eyes and hunched into himself, just wanting to get it over with.

“Aww, the poor baby already knows what’s coming!” Bowers cackled. “Well, I just hate to disappoint.”

Eddie could picture Henry’s smirk in his mind, and see the way he’d raise his balled up fist to strike. He very clearly heard the sound of a fist connecting to skin, and it made him flinch, but… Imagine his surprise when the first punch never came. He kept his eyes squeezed shut, waiting, but no fist ever struck. After what felt like an eternity, he opened his eyes.

A boy he’d never seen before was standing between him and Bowers. Eddie could only see his back, but he could tell how muscular he was. He could also very clearly see Bowers holding his bloody nose in horrified surprise.

“Pick on someone your own size next time,” the boy recommended.

“You’ll pay for that!” Bowers threatened. But instead of striking back, he actually _ran away_.

By the time the boy turned to face him, Eddie had already decided he was in love. It was honestly a bit anticlimactic when their eyes met and his final color flared to life. He’d never thought that yellow would be so bright and cheerful.

“Are you okay?” The boy asked. His voice had a breathless quality, and it was the only indication that he was seeing the color as well.

“I’m perfect now,” Eddie admitted. He had never felt more perfect in his life. He would blame excitement for his next action, though he wouldn’t regret it. He surged forward and pulled the boy into a desperate kiss.

To his credit, the boy didn’t push him away. The kiss was sweet, and very short. When they broke apart, they were both smiling. Eddie didn’t back away, and they ended up with an arm around each other, just looking into each other’s eyes.

“I’m Mike,” the boy told him. “And I’m so happy to finally meet you. Have you found the others yet?”

“You knew you’d have more than one?” Eddie asked. “And I’m Eddie.”

“I could just feel it. I don’t know exactly how many, but I knew it would be more than one,” Mike answered calmly.

“I can introduce you to all of them,” Eddie promised. “I’m going to be meeting up with them in about an hour, out at the quarry, if you want.”

“I’d like nothing more,” Mike grinned.

Graduation was equally the happiest and saddest day of the group’s lives. They’d named themselves the Loser’s Club, and they were so in love that nobody else could really stand to be around them. They bounced between houses frequently; Richie had fully moved in with Bill, and Eddie had been staying with Stan for months by this point. They spent every weekend out on Mike’s grandfather’s farm, and the couples had expanded.

There were no clear lines between relationships anymore. Everyone had at least kissed everyone else, and dates could range from a pair to all seven of them. Even Bill had gotten on board, finally.

_(“Eddie, c-can we t-t-talk?” Bill had asked. Eddie nodded silently, pausing their movie. “I th-think… Eddie, I’m in l-love with y-you.”_

_“What?” Eddie gaped, staring at him in surprise._

_“I d-didn’t w-want to ruin wh-what we have,” Bill sighed. “B-but I’ve loved y-you for a long t-time.”_

_“Bill,” Eddie whispered, tears in his eyes._

_“P-please tell m-me I d-d-didn’t ruin us,” Bill begged. Eddie answered with a frantic kiss.)_

After the ceremony, they threw their own party at the quarry. They’d all be leaving for college within the week, spreading out across the country. Richie and Bill would be in LA; Eddie, Ben, and Bev were going to New York; and Stan was taking Mike to Atlanta with him.

“We need to make a promise,” Bev told them, her face completely serious.

“W-what promise?” Bill asked.

“We have to promise to keep in touch. And once we’re done with college, we _have_ to promise we’ll all be together again,” she told them.

“I, for one, don’t even care where we end up, as long as we’re together,” Mike agreed.

“Then we’re decided?” Stan asked, smiling.

“It’s a promise,” Eddie nodded.

Richie pulled out his pocket knife with a flourish. “Blood oath, anyone?” Even though he was mostly joking, everyone in the group nodded slowly. “Alrighty then.”

One by one, they took turns cutting a thin line into their palms. Even Eddie, who would usually balk at all of the possible germs, participated.

“I love you guys,” Bev told them, smiling through her tears.

“We love you, too,” Ben told her. They were all wiping away tears now, laughing at each other and themselves. This wasn’t an ending, after all. It was the perfect beginning for the rest of their lives.

**Author's Note:**

> I left it pretty open-ended. I don’t know if I’ll write more or not, but I have ideas if I decide to.


End file.
